Department Ofpharmaceutical Biotechnology

Department ofPharmaceutical biotechnology

Welcome

The Pharmaceutical biotechnology department of Tehran University of Medical sciences has been oriented to provide graduate training programs in the field of pharmaceutical biotechnology since 2003. It has the distinction of being the first in the established pharmaceutical biotechnology departments among national pharmacy faculties. We are constantly working to improve the offerings we provide for our students. Currently, several basic and applied research projects in different areas of biotechnology such as nanobiotechnology, cancer research, enzyme technology, biocatalysts, biomarker research, genetic engineering and recombinant protein production are in progress and directed by our department members. We would like to welcome talented and motivated individuals who are interested in these fields.

Message of the Head of the Department

Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary science and is related to the application of biological organisms, systems or processes by various industries through learning the science of life and improvement of the value of materials such as pharmaceuticals. The importance of biotechnology and biotechnology-based methods in medical therapies and diagnostics and also in the discovery, development, and manufacture of pharmaceuticals is undeniable. Moreover, biotechnologically manufactured pharmaceuticals form a significant part of a total pharmaceutical market at the moment. The setting up of a separate department of pharmaceutical biotechnology in the faculty of pharmacy since 1998 and the running of the PhD program since 2003, gave a new opportunity to the development of the field of traditional as well as modern biotechnology in pharmaceutical sciences. Our PhD program aims to provide educational training and research facilities in the field of pharmaceutical biotechnology. Our expectation is that students who graduate from the pharmaceutical biotechnology department will be the next generation of leading academicians, health industry professionals and entrepreneurs.

About the Department

The Department of pharmaceutical biotechnology was founded in 1998. It has got some research laboratories, in which several kinds of projects are performed, mainly in the development of recombinant proteins, enzyme technology, gene cloning and nanobiotechnology. The Department has teaching and research programs which encompass various basic and applied aspects of traditional and modern biotechnology. Currently, the department members are enrolled in teaching of five credits in pharm D program and about 20 credits of PhD courses. In the past fifteen years, more than 300 academic papers have been published in international journals and most of them have been used in national and international academic conferences. We have also assumed and completed more than 110 research projects, published 6 specialty books and won about 4 prizes from academic festivals of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The Department has also been successful in manufacturing three pharmaceutical proteins and some laboratory test kits.

Department Profile

Currently the department has 5 faculty members, about 15 undergraduate and 8 postgraduate students and an administrative staff. The Department, located on the 3rd floor of the faculty of pharmacy new building, has four laboratories: Enzyme technology, genetic engineering, recombinant protein and cell culture. Research interests of the department are nanobiotechnology, cancer research, enzyme technology, biocatalysts, biomarker research, genetic engineering and recombinant protein production.

Department Chart

Department's Mission and Vision Statement

Mission:

-Includingthe interdisciplinary field of biotechnology inpharmacy education and research.

-Supplying a steady stream of highly competent pharmaceutical biotechnology graduates required for the country

-Contributing to generation of new knowledge and expertise in the field of pharmaceutical biotechnology

Vision:

The objective of pharmaceutical biotechnology department is to provide academic training and conduct research in interdisciplinary areas of biotechnology, with a particular emphasis on extending the knowledge generated from these studies towards the development of products and technologies of commercial significance.

Outline of Courses

Currently the department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology accepts students in 1 degree program:

Courses / Field
PhD / Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
Training Program
Courses / No. of credits
Core Courses / 30
Thesis / 20
Total / 50

Core Courses of Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology

No. / Course / Credits / hour
01 / Medical information systems / 1 / 17
02 / Advanced molecular biology / 2 / 34
03 / Advanced molecular genetic / 2 / 34
04 / Advanced biochemistry / 2 / 34
05 / Advanced immunology / 2 / 34
06 / Advanced immunology (practical) / 1 / 17
07 / Biotechnology of primary and secondary metabolites / 2 / 34
08 / Biotechnology of primary and secondary metabolites (practical) / 1 / 17
09 / Biotechnological process / 2 / 34
10 / Genetic engineering / 2 / 34
11 / Advanced genetic engineering / 2 / 34
12 / Advanced genetic engineering (practical) / 1 / 17
13 / Protein Chemistry / 2 / 34
14 / Animal and plant cell culture / 2 / 34
15 / Animal and plant cell culture (practical) / 1 / 17
16 / Quality control of biopharmaceuticals / 2 / 34
17 / Quality control of biopharmaceuticals (practical) / 1 / 17
18 / Formulation of protein drugs / 2 / 34
19 / Thesis / 20

Research Centers and Laboratories

The department has also founded a research center for biotechnology in order to develop and implement successful basic and applied research activities. The biotechnology research center policy is based on novelty, innovation, team work and considering ethics in all research projects. Research priorities in this center include:

- Development of new biological products

- Quality improvement for drug substance produced from biological sources

-Prokaryotic and eukaryotic biotechnology

- Scale-up of the biological drugs production

- Development of biotechnological process in different industries including chemical and environmental industries

Faculty

Name of the faculty member: MojtabaTabatabaeiYazdi

Academic position: Professor

Research interests: Cloning, Development of recombinant protein

E-mail:

Name of the faculty member: Ahmad Reza Shahverdi

Academic position: Professor

Research interests: Nanobiotechnology, Cancer and infectious diseases

E-mail:

Name of the faculty member: Mohammad Ali Faramarzi

Academic position: Professor

Research interests: Biocatalysts

E-mail:

Name of the faculty member: ZarghamSepehrizadeh

Academic position: Associate Professor, Head of the Department

Research interests: Molecular biology, Biomarkers, Cloning

E-mail:

Name of the faculty member: NedaSetayesh ‌

Academic position: Assistant Professor

Research interests: Biomarkers, Cloning, Recombinant product analysis

E-mail:

Admission and academic Calendar

It is necessary for the applicants to get accepted in both the entrance exam and the interview held in June every year.

Registrationrequirements include:

Previous degree as PharmD, MD, MS in pharmaceutical biotechnology, medicinal biotechnology, biochemistry, biology, microbiology, chemical engineering, pharmaceutical and medicinal nanotechnology.

Knowledge of English language proven by accepted certificates.

Academic Calendar

Tests Date / Beginning of the semester / Duration
of Training
11.01.2014 -23.01.2014 / 14.09.2013 / 17 weeks / First Semester
01.02.2014 / 17 weeks / Second Semester
- / - / Not available / Summer Semester

Administrative Staff

Name of the Staff: Zahra Zaheri

Position: Secretary

Telephone: 64121331

E-mail:

Our Alumni and Job Placement of Graduates

1-Dr. NedaSetayesh

2-Dr. EshratGharaeiFathabadi

3-Dr. KhadijehJamialahmadi

4-Dr. AbdollahGhasemian

5-Dr. SinaAdrangi

6-Dr. Maryam Torshabi

7-Dr. HomeiraArabi

8-Dr. Zahra Moradpour

9-Dr. Leila Farahmand

10-Dr. Seyed Abbas Mirzaei

11-Dr. PardisNazari

12-Dr. Christine Hartoonian

13-Dr. MojtabaShakibaie

14-Dr. Hamid Forootanfar

15-Dr. SaleheSabouriShahrbabak

16-Dr. MahsaMoshfegh

17-Dr. BijanZare

18-Dr. NegarMottaghi-Dastjerdi

19-Dr. Mohammad Soltany-Rezaei-Rad

20-Dr. Mohammad HosseinYazdi

Job Placement of Graduates:

Graduates of this course are going to act in several fields as follows:

1-Educational fields

1. PharmD courses: Include theoretical molecular biology and pharmaceutical biotechnology
2. PhD courses

2-Industrial fields

1. Production of medicinal substances using bioreactors
2. Production of diagnostic tools using both bimolecular and immunological reagents
3. Testing and characterization of biotechnological apparatus and equipment
4. Other general activities: Analysis of the final product, product safety, quality control and safety, qualification of process plants and etc.

3-Research fields

1. Development of new APIs, treatment approaches and test kits
2. Development of new bioreactors using genetic engineering
3. Optimization of efficacy and targeting of the existing drugs
4. New genes, proteins and micro-organisms discovery

4-Management fields

1. Engagement in regulatory authorities (i.e. environmental or health authorities)
2. Project management of biotechnological plants or biological safety

Recommended Reference Books for Each Program

1-Albert B. et al, Molecular Biology of the Cell, 5th edition, New York: Garland Science, 2010

2-Lodish H. et al, Molecular Cell Biology, 6th edition, New York: W H Freeman and company, 2007

3-Brown T. A., Gene Cloning and DNA analysis, 7th edition, Blackwell Science, 2010

4-Primrose S. B., Twyman R. M., Old R.W. Principles of Gene Manipulation, 6th edition. Blackwell Science, 2001

5-Glick B., Pasternack I.J., Molecular Biotechnology, 4th edition, ASM, 2003

6-Demain A.L. and Davices J. E. Manual of industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology, 2nd edition. Washington: American Society of Microbiology, 1999

7- Bailey J.E., Ollis D. F., Biochemical Engineering Fundamentals, 1997

8-Vieth W.R., Bioprocess Engineering: Kinetics, Mass transfer, Reactors and Gene Expression, 1994

9-Schuler M. L. and Kargi F., Bioprocess Engineering: Basic Concept, 1992

10-Eidhammer L., Jonassen I., Taylor W.R., Protein Bioinformatics, Chichester: Wiley and Sons. 2004

11-Simpson R.J.,Proteins and Proteomics: a laboratory manual, New York: Hold Spring Harbor, 2003

12-Whitford D., Proteins: structure and function, Wiley and Sons, 2005

13-Freshney R. I., Culture of Animal Cells: A Manual of Basic Technique and Specialized Applications, 6th Edition, Wiley Blackwell, 2010

14-Walsh, G., Pharmaceutical Biotechnology: Concepts and Applications.. J. Wiley & sons,

Chichester, UK. 2007

15-Walsh, G. Biopharmaceuticals: Biochemistry & Biotechnology, second edition., J. Wiley & sons, Chichester. 2003

16-Rehm H.J. and Reed G., Biotechnology: enzyme technology, Vol 7A, VCH, 1982

17-Banga A.K., Therapeutic Peptide and Proteins: Formulation, Processing and Delivery systems. 2nd edition. CRC Press, 2005

FAQs:

Am I eligible to apply?

Applicants must have completed Pharm D, MD, MS in pharmaceutical biotechnology, medicinal biotechnology, biochemistry, biology, microbiology, chemical engineering, pharmaceutical and medicinal nanotechnology to apply for Pharmaceutical Biotechnology PhD program .It’s important to review the Faculty of Pharmacy Requirementsof Tehran University of Medical Sciencesto determine eligibility.

How do I apply?

Review the Application Procedureinformation and follow the steps outlined in Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy.

What are the admission requirements?

Applicants must submit an official transcript and an updated CV.